Photo Credits: Kevin Contrerashttps://www.instagram.com/kevincontrerasphoto?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==

When Frankie Polonsky, host of the show Uneven Compromise Radio, organized a show for cloud rappers Laker Brady and Aceii at The Secret Group in Houston, he made sure to include a stacked lineup of local openers. Luckily enough for me, the bill included one of my favorite new bands: Empty Shell Casing. For those who aren’t familiar with them, they’re rap metalists hailing from the Dallas/Fort Worth area and the first band I’ve heard in a long time that have made me think, “Wow, nu metal is so back.” Their EP, And Slowly…As I Turn My Back, is barely over a year old now, and their new double single release, Empty, has just arrived. Featuring the tracks “Grasp” and “Push Away”, Empty takes what the band does best - bringing the energy, passion, and pandemonium - and turns it up a notch. Considering the vitality they were already bringing, it didn’t seem like that was possible. Furthermore, they went the extra mile and released a chaotic music video for “Grasp” featuring all their signature mayhem. Once the show was over, the band was generous enough to let me snag an interview with them despite the late hour and the fact that they’d just played an intense set with absolutely insane stage. Our conversation went as follows:

Hey there, this is Brandon Puig interviewing Dallas/Fort Worth nu metal band Empty Shell Casing. If y’all could give us your names and what roles you have in the band?

Jakaree: I’m Jakaree, I play vocals. Play vocals?

dj punchdrunk: I’m dj punchdrunk and I am the DJ.

Ben: My name is Ben and I play drums.

Zach: My name is Zach and I play guitar. 

Zain: My name’s Zain, I play guitar and I sing. 

Aden: My name’s Aden and I play the bass. JUMPADEN.

So, how are you guys feeling about your set tonight?

Aden: It felt really good. Good vibes.

Jakaree: The set tonight was super fun. This was, like, our third time playing in Houston? It was dope. Stage was big as hell, got to run back and forth, you know what I mean? First rap show, too. There was rap kids in the crowd, it was tight. Oh, I guess it’s not our first rap show…

Ben: Not our first rap show.

Jakaree: My bad…

Ben: First Houston rap show.

Jakaree: …first Houston rap show.

dj punchdrunk: We were really excited to play with Laker [Brady], we all like Laker. We all like Joeyy, and we all like Marlon DuBois, and we like rap music.

Ben: Yeah…just to go off of what Christian [dj punchdrunk] said, we got on the show as a fan. They didn’t ask us, we tried to get on the show.

That’s awesome. Do you guys have a favorite song y’all like to play live?

Ben: I like playing “Lucy (Look Into My Eyes)” a lot, but I think everyone should probably answer. But “Push Away” is also really cool, the new song.

dj punchdrunk: I like to play “Blanks”.

Jakaree: I like “Grasp” a lot. 

Zach: “Blanks”.

Zain: I like *********. Oh…

Is that unreleased?

Ben: Unreleased song…it’s an unreleased song. ********* is a work in title song.

Jakaree: You can put stars for that.

Zain: Can I revise my answer? Computing noises My favorite song is this unreleased song that we have. It’s a bunch of fun to play.

Aden: I like the unreleased song and “Push Away”.

Yeah, I love the two singles off of the Empty singles collection, “Grasp” and “Push Away”. Y’all came out with a music video for “Grasp” and that was obviously, like, your first music video. What was it like being in a music video production for one of your songs?

Jakaree: That was pretty cool. Because we did have a music video before, the “Blanks” music video, but it wasn’t, like, an actual music video. Just clips [of live shows] put together.

Ben: It wasn’t live.

Jakaree: Yeah, it wasn’t live, you know what I mean? But being able to work with Derek [the director], doing the outside shots where I’m, like, in the truck…even during the performance [from the music video shoot] where he’s telling us to do this, this, and this while we were playing our set, it was tight, it was crazy. He knows what he’s doing, he knows his shit. It was tight.

dj punchdrunk: There was actually supposed to be a couple of different shots, like…can I drop this? Can I drop this knowledge? 

Aden: Yeah, drop the lore.

dj punchdrunk: There was supposed to be a plot to it where we were gonna shoot us in a kitchen, making food rapping at the camera and it’s, like, we get fired from our job and then we drive the truck to the music video, but we ended up not being able to shoot in the kitchen. So we just used the live footage [from the music video shoot] and…I don’t know, it’s cool. I’m glad that it worked out that way because I think that the live footage was so good that maybe doing all that other stuff would’ve taken away from it a little bit. 

Was that, like, was the kitchen thing…this might be a stretch, but is that influenced by that one Limp Bizkit music video?

dj punchdrunk: It’s not. What is the music video it’s influenced by?

Ben: We had a handful of them.

Jakaree: For me, specifically, it was “Galaxies: The Next Level” by Mountain Brothers and they’re just kind of doing every day tasks, like, rapping to the camera. I just kind of wanted the same vibe.

So making the music video, is it, like, awkward when you’re being recorded but the song isn’t really playing how it would be? I don’t know how it works…

Zain: We didn’t have to deal with that.

Jakaree: We did with the…

Zain: The kitchen scenes, but that didn’t make it into the video.

Ben: It ended up being, like, the stuff that we did that was supposed to be “plot related” were mostly just shots that would have been miscellaneous throughout the video. But when we did all the live shots we were just playing the song live and it was kind of funny because, like, there were definitely a few times where my playing doesn’t sync up with the song and it cuts to me and I think it’s kind of funny. All the live stuff was…live, so we still played.

Yeah, like the live music video shoot. Was that filmed in Denton?

Ben: Yeah, it was a Denton house show that we did. We set it up for the music video so it was really cool, and it was also the first time we played our hometown in a minute, so it was cool coming back and playing DFW. We had openers like Rosasharin, atcitdio, some really cool bands play, so it was a great show.

The DFW scene is just full of so much talent. Amazing talented bands over there. How has being a part of that specific scene, the DFW scene…how has that shaped you guys as a band both musically and personally?

Jakaree: It’s dope. Just surrounded by, you know, so many talented acts like Former, Since My Beloved…I Promised The World, Rosasharin, Ozone…the list goes on and on. All those guys are dope, playing shows with them is crazy because we can go to Ozone and, like, Defcon 1 and play with the hardcore kids and then we can go to I Promised The World and Rosasharin and play with post-hardcore and emo kids, you know? We can kind of tap into both scenes and all the kids pop out to every show, you know, it’s really cool.

Ben: Yeah, it’s like the scene is very eclectic, you know? And I feel like it’s almost, like, not singular. If you go to Dallas you’re going to get a whole different crowd than if you went to Denton or Fort Worth, so it’s kind of cool. If we wanted to we could make a run out of just DFW shows. We could play three shows and they would be completely different, so it’s cool how eclectic it is.

Zain: We’re blessed. We’re blessed to have such awesome friends that are in such awesome bands, and big shoutout to I Promised The World and Rosasharin and atcitdio, and a big shoutout to Ozone…Defcon 1…Warlord…shoutout to all those bands. Yeah, we’re blessed.

What are the origins of Empty Shell Casing? How’d you guys get started out?

Ben: We’re all from different bands in Dallas/Fort Worth. You know, like I said, it’s very eclectic. We’re all from different areas, we all live in different areas, but we all came from hardcore shows, going to hardcore shows, being in other bands. Like, Zain was a photographer and then he was in other bands. Christian was originally a bassist in another band. But it kind of formed out of a band that me, Jakaree, and Zach were in and we just kind of wanted to reform everything, so then we made Empty Shell Casing out of it. That was, like, early 2024.

As a group of artists who make music to be heard and performed in front of people, do y'all ever deal with any sort of, like, stress or anxiety about the quality of your music?

Ben: Absolutely. That’s a great question. There’s definitely a consistent…not pressure, because we’re doing what we love, but, you know, sometimes we can get into our own heads about if our part is sick and we’re like, “Is it going to translate well when we play live?” In the past, we’ve had to play songs live and see how we feel about it. Or we’ve beaten it in, like, we don’t know if this part’s good and we’ve changed it a bunch of times. There’s an interview with Jared [Gomes] from (Hed) P.E. where he says, for them, a lot of their best parts come from the first time writing it, so I kind of try to think about that and adjust how I write. Like, maybe there’s a magic to the first time, the first draft of a song. That’s a great question. There's a lot of anxiety that comes from writing and shit.

I mean, you wouldn’t be able to tell with you guys on stage. Like, you’re obviously doing something right.

Jakaree: Thank you. I definitely feel that way about lyrics, you know? I’m just trying my best to say some dope shit, say some meaningful shit, but “don’t be corny about it” and I definitely get in my head. You can ask all these guys, I’ve definitely gone to them plenty of times and have just been like, “Yo is this good?” blah, blah, blah, so, you know. Definitely feel some stress, but it’s all about teamwork and getting through it. At the end of the day we always, like, figure it out, you know? We always help each other out in the end.

Well, like I said, you would not be able to tell with your performances.

Ben: That means a lot. And something that I think is the biggest help with that anxiety is trusting all of these guys and knowing that, like, these are some of the best musicians that I know…

Dap ups ensue

Ben: …and if literally the best bassist I’ve ever met is in my band, and my favorite vocalist, my favorite guitarist and the best DJ I know are in my band, being able…

Jakaree: I’m sorry, lowkey all the swaggiest people I know are in my band right now.

Ben: Yeah, so any anxiety I have I just go over it with them, it’s like I trust them, they have the shit, they have the sauce. So, the biggest thing that helps is just going over it with my band members.

That’s awesome. Thank you for sharing that, I’m sure a lot of people will appreciate that.

Ben: If you’re starting a project and you’re not sure how you want it to sound or how you want it to go, just surround yourself with people who you would take advice from.

Zain: Don’t ever listen to somebody who’s not in the position that you want to be in. Because if they're giving you advice and you want to be in a position and they’re not in that position then they have no right to be GIVING YOU THAT ADVICE. 

Thank you guys for sharing that again. Moving on from that…we’re down to the last few questions by the way. Now for some fun questions so you can share your opinions about stuff. So: what has been the greatest set out of any band that you have been an audience member in?

Ben: Ooohh, so we should all answer this. For me, it was my first concert that I went to alone, and it was Trivium. They’re my favorite band. I saw them in 2016. It was my first show and it was my favorite band, so it was a great one.

Jakaree: I saw Earl Sweatshirt, MIKE, and The Alchemist…was that, like, a year ago? No, that was, like, 2023, 2024…I forget, but it was when me and Christian were first starting to become close. So seeing my favorite rapper, I’m with my homie, it’s just chill vibes. That was, like, the best thing ever. MIKE was rapping and he was sweating bullets, you know what I mean? Pouring his heart and soul into it. That was a dope show. But also, xSERAPHx. I saw them for the first time in Minneapolis…no, Madison. Madison, Wisconsin. We played with them, and they were the best band ever, so that’s another one.

Aden: xSERAPHx was amazing, like Jakaree said. I think the first time we saw them the singer…I forget his name, but he’s awesome. What’s his name?

Jakaree: Liam, the swaggiest little dude on Earth.

Aden: Yeah, the breakdown hit, there’s a basketball net, he dunks that shit on the snare. It was amazing. But, like, best big show, I saw this band Failure in 2022 and that was probably the craziest live music I’ve ever seen in my life. It was amazing.

Zain: Best show I’ve ever seen? Hm…dude, Lamb of God in, like, 2018. I saw them, that was awesome. That was dope. Probably, like, OLTH for any show that we’ve played with them, they’re one of the most legendary bands. Yeah, they’re the goats I love playing with them.

Jakaree: Since My Beloved’s last show. Fire show.

Ben: Oh, yeah. All of us can say Since My Beloved. 

Zach: The fact that I got to see Since My Beloved so many times in so many different venues was awesome. OLTH is legendary. I got to see xSERAPHx and Awaiting Eschiel at the same venue and that was, like, everybody agrees that that was a crazy night. And…I mean, we played Hellfest, like, Hellphyra and that was awesome. All of those sets were awesome.

Ben: Honorable mention from all of us who saw Disembodied at Hellphyra - was a crazy set. They slowed all their songs down and it was just like watching Crowbar, dude, it was crazy. It was mayhem.

dj punchdrunk: Maybe OLTH or Death Grips or…

Who was the first band?

dj punchdrunk: OLTH…they’re from New York. They’re like a screamo band…I’m wearing their hoodie right now. They’re fire. I’m trying to think…Awaiting Eschiel, yeah, that shit was crazy. Those kids know how to play their instruments, they’re tight, they’re locked in. I saw Slipknot when I was, like, 12 and that was crazy. That shit was insane.

This might be a silly question, but do y’all have any favorite video games?

Everyone: Skate 3…

Jakaree: Yeah, everybody collectively Skate 3, Black Ops II Zombies. But for me personally I have the DOOM Eternal [tattoo]…well not DOOM Eternal just the DOOM logo, but DOOM Eternal is one of my favorite games of all time. Devil May Cry 3 - you asked the right person, I’m a huge gamer.

I’ve only played Devil May Cry 5 so I’m kind of like a poser.

Jakaree: That’s a good one, too. It’s not like the old ones but…everybody will shit on that one but it’s fire, it’s sick. God of War.

Zain: Favorite video game? The Last of Us Part I. Good game. DOOM Eternal. The Witcher 3. Tears of the Kingdom.

Dude, yes, that’s my favorite game.

dj punchdrunk: Favorite video game? Probably Minecraft, I’ve probably played Minecraft the most out of anything. 

Ben: I want to let everyone else go and see if we can go the whole thing without someone forgetting this gem.

Zach: Definitely Black Ops II, the Chivalry games, and the Infamous games.

Aden: I feel like I know what Ben’s gonna say but I’m not going to say it. I just beat DOOM Eternal, that shit was fire. Of all time, though…probably Ocarina of Time. That game’s awesome.

Jakaree: Wii Sports.

Ben: LEGO Star Wars Complete Saga. That’s the best game of all time, that’s the best game of all time. Best LEGO game.

I was more of a LEGO Indiana Jones or LEGO Batman kid.

Ben: That game is also fire, LEGO Batman is also fire. LEGO Marvel Super Heroes is fire.

LEGO Marvel Super Heroes is…in my opinion, that’s the best LEGO game.

Ben: Honestly, it revolutionized the new concept of open world LEGO games. Not to get too weird with it but it’s true. Like, the Skywalker Saga? Like, What? Are you serious? They flopped on open world.

Jakaree: Tony Hawk’s Underground.

Ben: Tony Hawk’s Underground. Skate 1, Skate 2, Skate 3. Skate 4 is alright. It’s cool but it’s kind of Fortnite. Yeah, it’s kind of like Fortnite.

Thank you guys. I’m here representing KANM Student Radio, we’re the student run radio station of Texas A&M University. Do y’all have anything you would like to say to the people of College Station, Texas?

Ben: Pull up.

Zain: Who has a place that we can stay at tonight?

Ben: Who has a place to stay in Austin tomorrow?